Barge owners want cap on vessels in Goa

Saturday, 12 Nov 2011

IANS reported that amid predictions that iron ore trade volumes will drastically dip this fiscal, an association of ore ferrying river barges in Goa has asked the state government to stop registering more vessels.

The All Goa Barge Owners Association, representing the nearly 400 odd barges in the state, has asked chief minister Mr Digambar Kamat to put a ceiling on the number of barges in Goa.

Mr William D'Costa secretary of the association said that “Our waterways are congested. There is no place for more barges. Taking into account the amount of ore transported, having more barges in Goa will be uneconomical.”

Mr D'Costa said that “The total dead weight of all barges together is 650,000 tonnes. Considering the existing capacity, all barges together can have on an average 70 trips a year, which is uneconomical.”

Goa exported nearly 54 million tonnes of iron ore from the two ports in the state's jurisdiction, a minor port off Panaji and a major port Mormugao Port Trust. Ore from the mining pits in Goa's hinterland are ferried from mining jetties to the loading areas in these ports by river barges which ply along the Mandovi and Zuari rivers that open into the Arabian sea.

Even though Goa exported in excess of 50 million tonnes, there are growing fears of a crackdown on illegal mining, following the submission of the Justice MB Shah Commission report on illegal mining to the central government. Industry experts have predicted a sharp dip in Goa's mining exports this financial year.

(Sourced from IANS)